Producers have been relying upon UK Cooperative Extension Service agricultural and natural resource agents for many decades to assist with crop assessment (scouting, disease detection, yield impacts, etc.). Drones (or unmanned aerial systems) are a newer technology that have vastly increased the crop assessment efficiency as whole field can be visualized in real-time. Through the Charles E Barnhard Fund, post-processing capabilities for collected drone images were made available this past year to agents and extension specialist. The post-processing software not only allow for orthomosaic images to be created but it is also useful for stand counts and plant health maps. The maps created have helped producers determine which management strategy to follow. With the current cost of inputs, producers need every potential tool they can find. 

The greatest impact for the UAV flight post-processing software has been seen in Lewis County. The Lewis County Cooperative Extension Service purchased a drone with multispectral capabilities. Since registering their drone, over 17 fields comprised of four different crops have been flown for crop health mapping. Luckily, no fields had to be replanted, but strategies for subsequent years water and nutrient management have been explored.